The debate has continued for several years. Even as the Oklahoma Legislature struggled to backfill budget holes, adequately fund state agencies and create the pro-business type of environment called for by Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, it was hampered by the simple fact that so much of the state’s tax revenue is spoken for before the budget is even written. Part of that reason, state Rep. David Dank said, is our love affair with tax incentives.

This week, the state Department of Education announced the finalists for its annual Teacher of the Year awards. And this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld a law that overturned the state’s Common Core educational standards. At first glance, it doesn’t look like the issues are related. But they are.

For several years now, I’ve listened as one politician after another called for Oklahoma’s government to be more transparent and open.
At the same time, many in the journalistic community have echoed those statements, pushing government to make more information available and open to the public.